Ball have been making watches for over 130 years. They’re steeped in history, being responsible for making some of the most accurate timepieces of their day during the development of the railroads in the United States. Oracle Time are the UK’s leading luxury watch magazine and at their inaugural event, ‘Hands on Horology’, the two brands launched the Engineer II limited edition ‘Dazzle’.
The Ball Watch company was founded after the Great Kipton Train wreck on April 18th 1891, a disaster where a fast mail carrying train collided head on with a passenger train. The incident was found to be caused by a pocket watch that had stopped working for 4 minutes, meaning that the conductor failed to stop at the lay-by to allow the mail train to pass. After the incident, Webb C. Ball was appointed Chief Time Inspector for the Railroads. He devised a new system of timekeeping that removed the inconsistencies found to have caused the incident and improved the inspection quality of timepieces. Within 20 years Ball had regulated and inspected over 1 million timepieces which had a significant positive impact on the safety of railroads.
It's a wonderful story of how a tragedy caused innovation and an improvement to safety standards that had a lasting positive impact on rail transport.
The Ball x Oracle Time Dazzle doesn’t have only one historical link, but two. The design on the dial has been inspired by the Dazzle camouflage used by the Royal Navy during the first world war. The design was conceived by marine painter, Norman Wilkinson. Its purpose was to not conceal the battleships, but to distort the outlines of the ship making it hard to determine its shape and heading. This dramatically improved the ships’ chances of surviving against U-boat attacks prior to the invention of radar.
It's rare for a brand-new watch to have this much history attached to it. So, with that in our minds, let’s look at the watch itself.
Hands-On Review: Ball x Oracle Time Dazzle
The case and bracelet are formed from 904L stainless steel and overall construction feels high quality. It measures 40mm in diameter and 11.5mm thick. There is sapphire crystal front and back, and the movement has been nicely decorated which looks good through the exhibition case back.
The movement is the Ball calibre RR1101-C which is COSC certified and is highly antimagnetic. I am unsure whether this is a fully in house developed calibre or a modified movement from the likes of ETA and Sellita but I’m sure somebody can let me know in the comments.
The design on the dial is very interesting to look at. The different colours and lacquer layers create a 3D effect. I love the abstract shapes; black, white and grey colouration which makes the dial eye-catching even from a distance.
This is the first Engineer II to have no date complication, and I like the symmetry that having the full surround of lume tubes creates. Speaking of the lume, this watch, along with many other Ball models uses Tritium gas encased in tubes. These glow incredibly bright under a UV light, but I have found that they don’t hold their brightness when the light is taken away. While this is an impressive feature, it’s not very practical as you cannot read the time in the dark. And the legibility is not much improved when in daylight. The silver hands blend into the shapes and grey tones of the dial, and the light blue accents are too small to distinguish them against the dial at a glance.
It is hard not to look at the three link bracelet design, the sloped bezel and the curves of the case and not draw comparisons to Rolex’s Oyster case and bracelet. While there are elements of this design, the feel and execution are worlds away from the Rolex. And this is something I’ve found with other Ball watches, they feel bigger than they really are. The case is not particularly thick at 11.5mm, but when on wrist it towers over my Air-King and Tudor Black Bay 58.
I think it’s due to the design of the lugs and case back that makes the case sit high on the wrist. We tried it on several different wrist sizes, thinking it might suit a larger wrist, but the result was the same. The bracelet does taper but only by around 2mm at the clasp, which makes for a chunky presence from all angles. I don’t like the way this watch wears at all; I find it to be very uncomfortable and clunky. The butterfly clasp does not help this issue either. It’s extremely wide and has large solid pieces of steel that are heavy to manoeuvre onto your wrist.
Some of you may be thinking that these comparisons to Tudor and Rolex are unfair as they are in different price categories. And yes, this piece is significantly less than an equivalent sized Rolex, but the price at £2,480 is creeping into Tudor territory. And regardless of the comparison, a watch of this value should wear comfortably.
The history of the Ball watch company and the Dazzle camouflage is wonderful. The dial design is brilliant and a true homage to Norman Wilkinson. However, I feel the rest of this watch does not live up to these highlights. I really do like the dial design, its modern, abstract, eye catching and something that’s not been done before. As a piece to look at, it’s brilliant and very eye-catching. But, as a piece to own and wear, it falls short of its potential, considering its historical significance and creativity.
But don’t worry if this watch isn’t your cup of tea, because you can pick yourself up a mug with inspirational quotes from the Ball website. Which will literally be your cup of tea.
